Former Assistant Sheriff Quits Over Metro Use Of Force

BY ERIK HELLING -- When Metro Sheriff Doug Gillespie decided not to fire officer Jacquar Roston for shooting an unarmed suspect, six members from Metro's Use of Force Board resigned their seats, saying Gillespie's decision threw Metro's integrity into question. The Use of Force Board provides oversight for police shootings. Perhaps the most prominent person to quit was Assistant Sheriff Ted Moody who was a 30-year veteran of Metro's force. On Monday, Moody told reporters he had to stand up for his principles.

Mike Blasky, crime reporter for the Review-Journal, notes Moody’s disappointment with the Sheriff’s decision on Roston’s suspension. Moody has taken a stance of criticism against Sheriff Gillespie for his actions.

“He [Moody] believed that the sheriff overstepped his bounds there, and that the whole review system they put in over the last year was predicated on trusting the process to get it right. By the sheriff overturning that, Ted and the members of the board felt that he had broken that trust, and the process was broken.”

According to Blasky, Moody was chosen by the Sheriff as a poster boy of sorts for the Use of Force Board. Moody was instrumental in the improvement of the Board, diversifying its members and taking broader measures to review Use of Force cases.

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“I think (Moody) felt like he had put a lot of himself in that process and had created a very good model. If he felt like the Sheriff wasn’t respecting that model, then what was the process altogether?” said Blasky.

A longstanding rumor is that Ted Moody is running for the position of Sheriff in the next election. Blasky asked Moody point blank, and he confirmed that he hasn’t made a decision on running. Blasky believes that this situation is more important to Moody at the moment than running for Sheriff.

“Some might say that this is political maneuvering to pre-empt his announcement to run, but at this point he’s just saying this is something he stood for and he couldn’t work in this capacity anymore.”